CHRISTINE

5 1 2 - 5 8 7 - 3 8 6 3

W E L C O M E

I was raised in a tiny but mighty, Minnesota town where I witnessed the northern lights dance across the sky. In this cold setting, even at a young age, my curiosity for human connections, interactions, and choices grew. Already being acclimated to cold weather, I was off to Fargo (yes, like the movie), earning a degree in psychology, before moving to Minneapolis for graduate school.

I fell in love with rock climbing at Vertical Endeavors in St. Paul, Minnesota. I crave being outside (and warm). Camping, rock climbing, hiking, biking, wake-boarding... I love it all. This passion to breathe in the outdoors led me to Austin. It was Austin's warmth that drew me in and its weirdness that made me feel at home.

Traveling solo to Bali, Indonesia is one of my proudest experiences in life. This two-week booked trip turned into an unplanned month and a half of trying new adventures with an open heart. I learned that living and loving can be expressed in different forms, so whatever life throws at us, we can adapt and thrive.

"I became a therapist because I believe it is never too late to start living the life you want to live."

THERAPEUTIC
STYLE

SPACE: I want to hear everything you want to share, and I can hold space for what comes to light. What does, "holding space" mean? This emotional space means I will not project my story, my pains, or my wishes onto you. It means that I welcome emotions. If parts of you have been stored away, punished away, or frightened away, you will need this space to come out and start feeling again. While certain pains and traumas do have common themes; you and your story is unique and will be treated as such.

CONTAINER: I am both personally and professionally boundaried. This provides a 'safety container' by showing you how much space you can take up so that you feel safe, I feel safe, and the relationship feels safe. A combination of space + container creates an environment for curiosity. Curiosity creates openness; an opportunity for change.

SECURITY: We don't get stronger by going to the gym and talking about the weights, do we? Nor do we get stronger (build resiliency & release stored pain), by purely analyzing or dissecting behaviors. Psychoeducation helps with clarity while providing useful tools and skills, but it doesn't get to the exhale of it all... the healing. This is done through feeling, experiencing, and trying.

Things to know:

I will remain mindful, present, and regulated as this serves a therapeutic purpose: 'Co-regulation.' This is why a newborn is placed onto the parent's chest; it helps the baby's nervous system regulate (calm). We can also receive co-regulation without touch, through emotional processing.

I'm not afraid of anger. It is the foundation behind boundaries, needs, and empowerment. If yours tends to spike up into rage, drop down into passive-aggression, or shut off into dissociation, I will validate your right to be upset , and what to do with that right. (*Hint: There's self-worth under there.) There is also space for you to be angry with me. When you're ready, you can experience being upset with someone who will not punish you nor drop into victimhood (guilt-trip). I'll take you seriously and address your concerns with care.

I believe that vulnerability (not disempowerment) is a strength and I will reflect that to you; vulnerability provides connection, healing, and growth.

CONGRUENCY: If the trauma wasn't cute going in, I don't expect it to be cute coming out.

EMPATHY: Empathy is more than emotional connection; it is about seeing life right side up. (*Not to be confused with sympathy, pity, infantilization, or enmeshment: to feel others' emotions, often inaccurately, due to lack of differentiation or individualization). Without empathy, a counselor may confuse emotional or psychological symptoms as the problem.

Hypothetical analogy: If you go to the doctor with a headache, the doctor may say it's a migraine (problem) and prescribe Advil (ongoing treatment). I see the headache as the signal rather than the problem. Using curiosity to assess, we may find that dehydration is the problem, causing a headache (signal), and water is the actual treatment.

Similarly, emotional discomforts are signals. In fact, if we 'skills' away an important signal, we might miss vital treatment. I think of self-care as the 'Advil' in this analogy, providing a bit of respite while we work on deeper rooted issues. You will gain understanding of, and empowerment over, your signals, creating wholeness of self.

GRATITUDE: I believe gratitude is a key aspect to life satisfaction. That being said, I do not believe in, or engage in, toxic positivity.

COMFORT: Those close to me describe me as warm, compassionate, insightful, and discerning. Clients often report feeling seen, heard, and understood.

EMPOWERMENT: I empower my Clients by helping them see themselves more clearly, with more worth, more esteem, and therefore, more clarity and conscious choice in their path forward.

I am a HEALTH-care provider

*Sick-Care focuses on getting rid of discomforts (the signals) by adding superficial solutions (which often create new symptoms)

*Health-Care focuses on using the signals as clues in order to address the root problem by adding in the missing pieces of health

THEORETICAL
APPROACH

My training is systems-based; I view you as a part of a whole system. I seek the truth; then, you decide what to do with that truth with my steadfast support. I understand the vital importance of relationships, including the relationship between therapist and client in the healing process. I focus on ensuring you have a healthy, present, secure therapist in front of you so you can freely 'let go.'

My treatment approach is integrative, meaning, I draw on theories and interventions from different schools of thought in order to most effectively address your concerns. I naturally operate from Attachment Theory, Internal Family Systems (inner child work), and Trauma-Focused modalities. We all learn how to relate to others and ourselves in our upbringing; we will use this information to discover how you now want to relate to others and yourself. I have significant experience in treating trauma; you will not be blamed, criticized, judged, pathologized, or abandoned. I believe in you.

I aim to listen more than talk. I want to learn more about you and how your life experiences shaped who you are today so you can walk towards who you want to be, and how you want to feel, tomorrow.

QUALIFICATIONS

S C H O O L

I received a B.A. degree in Psychology from Minnesota State University Moorhead. I went on to graduate with a Master of Arts degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. My thesis, "Familial Play Therapy," explained the concept of utilizing parents as the therapeutic change agents through strategic play therapy, both directional and non-directional. This encourages consistency of growth between sessions and smoothes the transition from therapy towards complete agency at home. I concluded my practicum by working with an organization that provides in-home therapy to families.

E X P E R I E N C E

I have been practicing therapy for more than 15 years. It is recommended that clinicians gain experience in various settings with various populations before starting a private practice; I took this advice seriously and worked in the following positions prior to opening this practice 8 years ago:

onsite middle & high school therapist, 1:1 autism behavioral specialist, in-home therapist working with the whole family, play therapist with children, residential living manager (adults with SPMI: Severe and Persistent Mental Illness), assisted living practitioner, medication administrator, 1:1 counselor (all ages with various symptoms, primarily using evidenced-based, measurable treatments on anxiety and depression), couples' counselor, court-ordered cases & case management, psychiatric hospital utilization review coordinator

L I C E N S E

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Texas regulated by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists. License # 202605.